Can you dunk?

[billybud]

5'3" Mugsy Bogues dunked in the NBA...not only that, he won the Dunking Contest one year.

Edit...He evidently did not win the Dunk Contest...that was Spud Webb....Mugsy claimed a 44" verticle...

 

[Chin Diesel]

5'3" Mugsy Bogues dunked in the NBA...not only that, he won the Dunking Contest one year.

No he didn't.

Spudd Webb won but no Mugsy Bogues

 

[billybud]

No he didn't.

Spudd Webb won but no Mugsy Bogues

OK..you are right...But Spud was a tall guy at 5'8"...Muggsy could dunk at 5'3"

 

[David 76]

Not on an 8' basket!

 

[the Q]

Used to easily with anything like a volleyball or smaller.

Struggled to palm the men’s ball.

Now 4 knee surgeries later...probably not; and my new barometer is can I get up and knock the ball out when it gets wedged between the rim and backboard.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

How about when playing did you ever get dunked on? I mean in your face slam where even you were impressed.

I got dunked in a Saturday morning league at East Catholic in college. My softball buddies and I thought we were joining a league that had the same level of competitiveness. Nope. D1 walkon/D3 types on each team but ours.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Used to easily with anything like a volleyball or smaller.

Struggled to palm the men’s ball.

Now 4 knee surgeries later...probably not; and my new barometer is can I get up and knock the ball out when it gets wedged between the rim and backboard.

That was also a big flex in high school rec hoops

 

[Demo Square]

@Demo Square did you ever play with/against Jim Carroll? Basketball Diaries is one of my all time favorite books. Too bad he's a People Who Died.

QDOG5,

Sorry, I'm a little older than Jim Carroll was when he played. I may or may not have played outdoor pick up games with Jim, but I never knew it, even with his trade-mark red hair. As I said, NYC hoopsters back then were part of a small cult of athletes from all backgrounds who would travel all over the Tri-State area looking for a good run, escape or some self-esteem. But it's a big town.

Often as teenagers in the summer, we'd get a handful of tall players together in a beat- up car & "travel" to faraway places like Riis Park near Coney Island, Uptown (155th), Downtown (W. 4th) Rockaway Beach ("McGuire Brothers, Court"), Rego Park, SJU (played with Dove, Cluess & the McIntyre's), NYU up in the Bronx back then (Hairston & Kramer), or even out to Nassau & Rockville Centre's decent year-round hoops scene. We'd bring a new net with us for those VERY thick, reinforced park hoops. What we found? Were other beat up cars & other tall guys from distant parts of the city looking to ball.

It was not uncommon for a car full of some seriously addicted & life-challenged former high school greats to absolutely destroy a car full of well-known college All-Stars, dunking them into submission. Now that was the fun for us hoopsters back then. And nothing was organized! No cellphones! No ESPN Highlights! Word of mouth or invite only. It just happened naturally from a love of the game - like in Connecticut's cities & anywhere else 'Where the restless stalk that baseline!" NOTE: There also were "money games" - another topic.

The big difference from now was there was nothing like AAU or even that many open summer leagues back then. We just played outdoors (2-10 players) & loved it, adapting to the seasons, sometimes shoveling off the park courts to practice our dunks - Ha!

Of course, Noo Yawkers also like to talk when they play pickup. It was either very frustrating or really funny back then. In some places, trash talking can get you slammed up against a chain-link fence or razored pretty quick.

And there wasn't even any serious money for the best of the pro's then, who all had second jobs. The 50's-mid-60's Knicks were always terrible. So interest in the pro's & the sport in general was minimal - except for college double headers at The Mecca - MSQ (Thank You, Ned Irish!), where the sharkskin & silk-suited gamblers courtside ruled. It was fun just watching them Thursday Nights, Ha! "Hey, how many is Komives good faw?" Their cigar smoke was so thick in the old 50th Street Gahden, you couldn't even see the overhead scoreboard!

I later became aware of Jim Carroll as a musician in a very good late 70's band. But I soon left the City & didn't hear of him again until "The Basketball Diaries" arrived. Jim lived way up in Inwood (Kareem's old neighborhood) while I grew up on the upper way way West Side, both poor "dirty white boys".- Ha!. Never met the dude - but would have liked to as many of his interests were also mine.

Carroll later lived in the cool, isolated & recalcitrant town of Bolinas, CA, a place I know quite well & have visited many times. But again, I never had a meeting with Jim Carroll.

I can say that so many of the guys I played pickup hoops against & with became renouned college basketball coaches. I crack up now when I see them on TV, still on the sidelines in their 60's & 70's: McKillop, Larranaga, Little Ricky, Mahoney, The Greenburg's, etc., etc. Sadly, so many of my guys have passed away now. I hope they are still dunking, no matter where they hoop it up.

Too many words. This is a dunking thread. Sorry guys! Glad I was able to experience that feeling a lot as a youngster, for more than 40 years, & through your posts here.

Hey, did anyone else get a bit of a lift on their dunks off that green Tartan rubber court in the Old Field House? I sure did.

Thanks for the memories, QDOG5.

Father Demo

Dunks on the house for everybody!

 

[August_West]

QDOG5,

Sorry, I'm a little older than Jim Carroll was when he played. I may or may not have played outdoor pick up games with Jim, but I never knew it, even with his trade-mark red hair. As I said, NYC hoopsters back then were part of a small cult of athletes from all backgrounds who would travel all over the Tri-State area looking for a good run, escape or some self-esteem. But it's a big town.

Often as teenagers in the summer, we'd get a handful of players together in a beat up car & "travel" to faraway places like Riis Park near Coney Island, Uptown (155th), Downtown (W. 4th) Rockaway Beach ("McGuire Brothers, Court"), Rego Park, SJU (played with Cluess & the McIntyre's), NYU up in the Bronx back then (Hairston & Kramer), or even out to Nassau & Rockville Centre's decent year-round hoops scene. We'd bring a new net with us for those VERY thick, reinforced park hoops. What we found? Was other beat up cars & other tall guys from distant parts of the city looking to ball.

It was not uncommon for a car full of some seriously addicted & life-challenged players to absolutely destroy a car full of well-known college All-Stars. That was the fun for hoopsters back then. And nothing was organized! It just happened from a love of the game - like in Connecticut's cities & anywhere else 'Where the restless stalk that baseline!" NOTE: There also were "money games" - another topic.

The big difference from now was there was nothing like AAU or even that many open summer leagues back then. We just played outdoors (2-10 players) & loved it, adapting to the seasons, sometimes shoveling off the park courts to practice our dunks - Ha!

Of course, Noo Yawkers also like to talk when they play pickup It was either very frustrating or really funny back then. In some places, trash talking can get you slammed up against a chain-link fence pretty quick.

And there wasn't even any serious money for the best of the pro's then, who all had second jobs. So interest in the sport was minimal - except for college double headers at The Mecca - MSQ, where the sharkskin & silk-suited gamblers courtside ruled. It was fun just watching them Thursday Nights, Ha! "Hey, how many is Komives good faw?"

I later became aware of Jim Carroll as a musician in a very good late 70's band. But I soon left the City & didn't hear of him again until "The Basketball Diaries" arrived. Jim lived way up in Inwood (Kareem's old neighborhood) while I grew up on the upper West Side, both poor "dirty white boys".- Ha!. Never met the dude - but would have liked to as many of his interests were also mine.

Carroll later lived in the cool, isolated & recalcitrant town of Bolinas, CA, a place I know quite well & have visited many times. But again, I never had a meeting with Jim Carroll.

I can say that so many of the guys I played pickup hoops against & with became renouned basketball college basketball coaches. I crack up now when I see them on TV, still on the sidelines in their 60's & 70's: McKillop, Larranaga, Little Ricky, Mahoney, The Greenburg's, etc., etc. Sadly, so many of my guys have passed away now. I hope they are still dunking, no matter where they hoop it up.

Too many words. This is a dunking thread. Sorry guys! Glad I was able to experience that feeling a lot as a youngster, for more than 40 years.

Thanks for the memories, QDOG5.

Father Demo

Dunks for everybody!

You’re my favorite poster.

 

[the Q]

That was also a big flex in high school rec hoops

For kids who couldn’t dunk...lol

 

[Deepster]

You’re my favorite poster.

I think he should post a story of the week. I'm all in.

 

[ThetaZoo]

Creating this poll off CliffSpliffy's comment below.

Right now, can you dunk a regulation men's basketball on a regulation hoop? I would guess the Yes result is 5% or less. We'll see.

5'9 in high school and came close to touching the rim a couple of times. Don't understand how guys 6'9 or better don't dunk regularly. I'm talking about you Carlton!

 

[billybud]

Thanksa bunch for reverie of the NY basketball scene...it was really interesting reading a first hand account.

So different from north Florida where I grew up..

As an aside, the Florida High school champs (big school division) in 1964 and 66 were The Marvelous Midgets of Pensacola High.

The tallest was the center at 6'1

 

[QDOG5]

@Demo Square, next question, how soon can you and I get our vaccine shots so that I can immediately visit you? You are a guy I need to hang out with. Creepy, but in a good way.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

QDOG5,

Sorry, I'm a little older than Jim Carroll was when he played. I may or may not have played outdoor pick up games with Jim, but I never knew it, even with his trade-mark red hair. As I said, NYC hoopsters back then were part of a small cult of athletes from all backgrounds who would travel all over the Tri-State area looking for a good run, escape or some self-esteem. But it's a big town.

Often as teenagers in the summer, we'd get a handful of tall players together in a beat- up car & "travel" to faraway places like Riis Park near Coney Island, Uptown (155th), Downtown (W. 4th) Rockaway Beach ("McGuire Brothers, Court"), Rego Park, SJU (played with Dove, Cluess & the McIntyre's), NYU up in the Bronx back then (Hairston & Kramer), or even out to Nassau & Rockville Centre's decent year-round hoops scene. We'd bring a new net with us for those VERY thick, reinforced park hoops. What we found? Were other beat up cars & other tall guys from distant parts of the city looking to ball.

It was not uncommon for a car full of some seriously addicted & life-challenged former high school greats to absolutely destroy a car full of well-known college All-Stars, dunking them into submission. Now that was the fun for us hoopsters back then. And nothing was organized! No cellphones! No ESPN Highlights! Word of mouth or invite only. It just happened naturally from a love of the game - like in Connecticut's cities & anywhere else 'Where the restless stalk that baseline!" NOTE: There also were "money games" - another topic.

The big difference from now was there was nothing like AAU or even that many open summer leagues back then. We just played outdoors (2-10 players) & loved it, adapting to the seasons, sometimes shoveling off the park courts to practice our dunks - Ha!

Of course, Noo Yawkers also like to talk when they play pickup. It was either very frustrating or really funny back then. In some places, trash talking can get you slammed up against a chain-link fence or razored pretty quick.

And there wasn't even any serious money for the best of the pro's then, who all had second jobs. The 50's-mid-60's Knicks were always terrible. So interest in the pro's & the sport in general was minimal - except for college double headers at The Mecca - MSQ (Thank You, Ned Irish!), where the sharkskin & silk-suited gamblers courtside ruled. It was fun just watching them Thursday Nights, Ha! "Hey, how many is Komives good faw?" Their cigar smoke was so thick in the old 50th Street Gahden, you couldn't even see the overhead scoreboard!

I later became aware of Jim Carroll as a musician in a very good late 70's band. But I soon left the City & didn't hear of him again until "The Basketball Diaries" arrived. Jim lived way up in Inwood (Kareem's old neighborhood) while I grew up on the upper way way West Side, both poor "dirty white boys".- Ha!. Never met the dude - but would have liked to as many of his interests were also mine.

Carroll later lived in the cool, isolated & recalcitrant town of Bolinas, CA, a place I know quite well & have visited many times. But again, I never had a meeting with Jim Carroll.

I can say that so many of the guys I played pickup hoops against & with became renouned college basketball coaches. I crack up now when I see them on TV, still on the sidelines in their 60's & 70's: McKillop, Larranaga, Little Ricky, Mahoney, The Greenburg's, etc., etc. Sadly, so many of my guys have passed away now. I hope they are still dunking, no matter where they hoop it up.

Too many words. This is a dunking thread. Sorry guys! Glad I was able to experience that feeling a lot as a youngster, for more than 40 years, & through your posts here.

Hey, did anyone else get a bit of a lift on their dunks off that green Tartan rubber court in the Old Field House? I sure did.

Thanks for the memories, QDOG5.

Father Demo

Dunks on the house for everybody!

methinks you had experience with connie hawkins, and herman, the human helicopter (players that i read aboot, the 'scene,' 'Manchild in the Promised Land' era). awesomesauce. roadtrip for me will always mean loading up the car, and heading out to play somewhere between west 4th in manhattan and that brookline court just off harvard st, and anywhere in between. only times that i ever fell asleep in a car, sometimes while driving. lol. i also have a memory of eating something like 4 or 5 big macs in like 30 minutes or so. prolly followed by a snooze story.
regular move - 'good run, now what? 'thirsty two ouncers! Big Gulps! burgers!'

'Big Gulp fountain drink cup sizes steadily rose throughout the decade and beyond, beginning at 32 ounces in 1980, then climbing to 44 ounces in 1986, 64 ounces in 1989, and a behemoth 128 ounces in 2006. Called the Team Gulp, the 128-ounce cup holds a gallon of soda.'

youse want to trip out, legally? play a couple/tree hours in high heat (i recall regularly losing 5 to 10 pounds at such times), then follow up with a pail of pepsi. sit down, cuz ya might fall down. big fun.
sometimes, we'd get a line on a new place, and some of my pals would joke 'do they shoot black people there, cliffy?' i'd be like, 'no, just jews. u guys are good, so watch my back, wouldya?' lol2x.
21st century observation: a lot less playas on the courts all tooted up or drunk. on the udder hand, a lot less playas on the courts.

 

[QDOG5]

How about when playing did you ever get dunked on? I mean in your face slam where even you were impressed.

Not me but my buddy tells the story about his HS team playing against Kelly Tripucka's team in Jersey late 70's. Tripucka was destroying them and near the end of the game my buddy (5' 10") decides he's going to give Tripucka a hard foul. KT drives the lane my buddy meets him at the rim and KT smashes home a two hander, knees my buddy in the gut, slam smashes his face and he stumbles into the pads behind the hoop and falls down. KT comes over and says "hey little buddy, be careful, it's a little rough out there"

 

[Umami Zen]

Caught a game once between Niagara and St Bonnie's. Calvin Murphy (5'9"/10") is providing help defense as a 6'9" PF is driving baseline and puts up a bank shot. CM pinned the ball on the backboard and gets called for goal tending.Pretty funny.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

lots of weird/funny dunk experiences for me, mostly on the receiving end. ouch.
playing in a meatpackers for pay league in kali, early on i learned the hard way what 'local team' meant. as in 'local refs.' in spite of regular whinings by my team, and getting nowhere fast with the zebras, the other squads big guy was allowed to do anything he wanted -elbows, stiff arm on the drive, u name it, as one ref had his back, and said so.
that big guy, 'hackapotamus,' unmolested, flys in for a slam. ball rips thru, hit's someone exactly on the shoulder or back, and ricochets directly into the face of really bad zebra. glasses, nose, etc explode on impact, blood everywhere, 911 called. we didn't laugh too much at the time, cuz no one was carrying, and we all wanted to get home safely as it was a non-division game, but in the cars later? iirc, it was aboot an hour or so back home to sf, with nothing but talk aboot how each of us saw it ('it was off his head! it was off his shoulder! it never hit anyone before clocking the ref!' and etc).
man, we were cracking up the whole time. justice! he got served, and we're leaving with our body parts intact! hoo-ray!

edit: often heard in the car after many of those games -'we got all of our teeth? cool, next up, micky d's!' way better than the 'who needs to hit the emergency room' conversations. 'why is my thigh purple? why is my ear now near my elbow? you really can see stars like on the cartoons!
meatpackers league - don't do that, even if they pay four figures a game (not me. i got a benjamin or so per game, as i was usually #7 or #8 on that squad.)

 

[Umami Zen]

lots of weird/funny dunk experiences for me, mostly on the receiving end. ouch.
playing in a meatpackers for pay league in kali, early on i learned the hard way what 'local team' meant. as in 'local refs.' in spite of regular whinings by my team, and getting nowhere fast with the zebras, the other squads big guy was allowed to do anything he wanted -elbows, stiff arm on the drive, u name it, as one ref had his back, and said so.
that big guy, unmolested, flys for a slam, ball rips thru, hit's someone exactly on the shoulder or back, and ricochets directly into the face of really bad zebra. glasses, nose, etc explode on impact, blood everywhere, 911 called. we didn't laugh too much at the time, cuz no one was carrying, and we all wanted to get home safely as it was a non-division game, but in the cars later? iirc, it was aboot an hour or so back home to sf, with nothing but talk aboot how each of us saw it ('it was off his head! it was off his shoulder! it never hit anyone before clocking the ref!' and etc).
man, we were cracking up the whole time. justice! he got served, and we're leaving with our body parts intact! hoo-ray!

Sounds like BB karma.LOL

 

[the Q]

Caught a game once between Niagara and St Bonnie's. Calvin Murphy (5'9"/10") is providing help defense as a 6'9" PF is driving baseline and puts up a bank shot. CM pinned the ball on the backboard and gets called for goal tending.Pretty funny.

My second favorite block all time was the one time I did this to a kid my senior year of hs.

Funny post script I ended up hanging out with him years later cause he was the roommate of one of my college baseball teammates.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Played in the Nutmeg State Games back in the day against a guy named Scott Sytulek from I believe Fairfield U. I hadn't heard of him up until the other team threw an inbound alley-oop to him from the baseline. I jumped up thinking this was an easy steal. He grabbed it out of my hand and threw it down in one motion as I fell to the floor. I was so impressed I forgot to be embarrassed. Thank God camera phones weren't invented yet. He was an exception to the "White Men Can't Jump" rule...

 

[Caronimo]

Define “dunk” because I can dunk some donuts into a coffee all day long.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Define “dunk” because I can dunk some donuts into a coffee all day long.

 

[mauconnfan]

Not me but my buddy tells the story about his HS team playing against Kelly Tripucka's team in Jersey late 70's. Tripucka was destroying them and near the end of the game my buddy (5' 10") decides he's going to give Tripucka a hard foul. KT drives the lane my buddy meets him at the rim and KT smashes home a two hander, knees my buddy in the gut, slam smashes his face and he stumbles into the pads behind the hoop and falls down. KT comes over and says "hey little buddy, be careful, it's a little rough out there"

Great story Tripucka was a nice player in his day. Liked ND as well as UConn back in the days going back to Austin Carr. He and Woolridge along with other nice players like Duck Williams I believe, Rivers maybe were very good but honestly were coached by an overrated HC in Digger.

There were a couple through HS and 2 years of community college hoops for me but there was on e that will always standout. Playing against nationally ranked Mattatuck CC of Waterbury (played them twice a year) and i was boxing out future Husky Al Fredericks on the low block. Had good position and reading a weak side rebound coming, ready to release go get the rebound and "Skinner" is already one handing it it home with a sneaker on my shoulder. I mean tremendous athlete as I played against him a few times, but this was so freakin quick and to top it off the striped dude called me for a bridge. I said "hey seriously I had him boxed out is it my fault he was able to jump 3 feet higher?" He just laughed as if I'd made a good point. But as I have said this before, Al was a real nice guy glad he had a nice career with the Huskies.

 

[Umami Zen]

Great story Tripucka was a nice player in his day. Liked ND as well as UConn back in the days going back to Austin Carr. He and Woolridge along with other nice players like Duck Williams I believe, Rivers maybe were very good but honestly were coached by an overrated HC in Digger.

There were a couple through HS and 2 years of community college hoops for me but there was on e that will always standout. Playing against nationally ranked Mattatuck CC of Waterbury (played them twice a year) and i was boxing out future Husky Al Fredericks on the low block. Had good position and reading a weak side rebound coming, ready to release go get the rebound and "Skinner" is already one handing it it home with a sneaker on my shoulder. I mean tremendous athlete as I played against him a few times, but this was so freakin quick and to top it off the striped dude called me for a bridge. I said "hey seriously I had him boxed out is it my fault he was able to jump 3 feet higher?" He just laughed as if I'd made a good point. By thawed have said this before, Al was a real nice guy glad he had a nice career with the Huskies.

Since you brought up community college BB.Thought you might get a kick out of this . As you can attest.There are some freakishly good athletes playing at that level.Scholastics/family situation/convenience might be their reason for playing at that level.

Had a Juco scholarship BB player as a roommate back in the day.. Was a 6'2' SG from Boston (went to Boston Latin HS) .Played for Leo Papile's AAU teams. Could really jump. Went out for HS track (at the encouragement of his BB coach) and was the state high jump champ as a sophomore. IIRC jumped 6'8"/6'9".Never went out again.

Our schedule included playing Jimmy Foster's(former Husky) Juco team.Dropped 25 on Jimmy. Anyway AJ could dunk the ball "Kansas City" style.Flat footed. Hand him the ball. Elevates. Dunks it reverse/backwards.

Above is all background to a story you might enjoy. Scrimmaging PC's JV team (freshman could not play varsity at that time).AJ (my roommate) is dunking on Marvin Barnes and vice versa. They had played vs each other numerous times in HS/AAU so it was a friendly competition. Marvin kept his cool that scrimmage. If you know what I mean.